Real Madrid take on AS Roma in the first knock-out round of the UEFA Champions League at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with manager Zinedine Zidane in charge of his first ever European game as the head coach.
Real have done reasonably well since Zidane took over the reins from Rafael Benitez in early January, and the Frenchman will have his first big test when he takes on AS Roma on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Roma, for their part, have slipped in the Serie A after making a very good start to the 2015-16 season. They currently sit in 4th place, 10 points behind leaders Juventus.
Team News
AS Roma
Possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Rüdiger, Digne; Pjanic, Nainggolan; Salah, Perotti, El Shaarawy; Dzeko
Real Madrid
Possible starting line-up (4-3-3): Navas; Danilo, Ramos, Varane, Carvajal; Modric, Kroos, Isco; James, Benzema, Ronaldo
Match Stats
- Real Madrid have won 5 of their last 6 games in the UEFA Champions League.
- Los Blancos also have 5 clean sheets in their last 6 Champions League ties.
- AS Roma have conceded 9 goals in their last 4 home matches against Real Madrid in Europe’s premier club competition.
- The Italian side have won just once in their last 11 outings in the Champions League.
- Roma went through to the knock-out stages of this season’s Champions League with the fewest points among all qualified teams (6).
Prediction
AS Roma 1-1 Real Madrid
Roma have not been in great form of late in the Serie A. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been playing very well under Zidane. That being said, an away game in the UEFA Champions League knock-out stages will be hard to win.
Real Madrid have the firepower to score in Rome and also have a good enough defence to ensure that they take a positive result back to Spain for the second leg.
Odds (888sport)
- Roma win: 7/2
- Draw: 37/13
- Real Madrid win: 4/5